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To start, here's the entry from the Oxford English Dictionary, NOUN:
I. The course or process of a series of actions, events, etc., through time; advancement through such a course.
1. Progression or advancement through a process, a sequence of events, a period of time, etc.; movement towards an outcome or conclusion. in progress: in the process of happening or being carried out.
2. spec. Advancement to a further or higher stage, or to further or higher stages successively; growth; development, usually to a better state or condition; improvement; an instance of this. Freq. to make progress.
In later use applied esp. to manifestations of social and economic change or reform.
{dag}3. An act of proceeding or coming from a source. Obs. rare.
4. Sc. Law. An unbroken series of possessors, tenants, etc., extending over several years, which sufficiently constitutes a valid and effectual title to property or land. Often in progress of (title) deeds (also progress of titles): a series of title deeds extending in such a way. Now hist.
heir (and successor, etc.) by progress: an heir who inherits under a progress of title.
II. The action or an act of journeying or moving onward in space.
5. a. An official journey, tour, or visit made by a monarch, church dignitary, or person of noble birth or high office. Also: the official tour made by judges and others, a circuit; an official visitation of its estates by an Oxford or Cambridge college.
b. A state procession. Also in extended use. Now hist.
6. In general use.
a. The action of stepping or marching forward or onward; onward march; journeying, travelling, travel; (also) an instance of this; a journey, an expedition. Now rare.
b. Onward movement following a prescribed course, in a specific direction, or towards a particular place.
c. Motion forwards, as opposed to rest or regress; advance. Also in figurative contexts.
{dag}d. A region or distance traversed. Obs. rare.
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ReplyDelete“pity this busy monster, manunkind,
ReplyDeletenot. Progress is a comfortable disease: …”
-- e.e. cummings, from 100 selected poems. Page 73 for entire poem.
Can be found here: http://books.google.com/books?id=pYp9FxUDjuEC&lpg=RA1-PA44&vq=progress&dq=ee%20cummings&pg=RA1-PA73#v=snippet&q=progress&f=false
Analysis: “Progress is a comfortable disease,” an e.e. cummings line that has always stuck in my head. He points out the negative connotation of progress here. cummings grew up in the early 20th century, and was likely witnessing the effects of the industrial revolution and changes in the meanings of work, technology, education, etc. this busy monster can be interpreted as humans or humanity that he says is working diligently, producing quickly, being the epitome of the industrial revolution. “manunkind” symbolizes that human nature is actually not kind, progressing the way it is, which we can see today- the outcomes of rapid industrialization have not been kind, especially to the environment. He says “not” to symbolize that there is really no need to pity mankind because if it is bringing everything upon itself. cummings calls progress a “comfortable disease” because he probably saw it as something that humanity saw as natural, and no one thought to go against it, instead they settled into this way of embracing progress for its own interests.
“Instead of illustrating “scientific progress,” the 22 case studies in the [“Science in American Life Exhibit”] focused on the impact of science and urged the public to think about the meaning of the development of the contraceptive pill, the atomic bomb, food additives, scientific education, and he advent of coal tar products and the creation of synthetic fibers, paints, aspirin, and pesticides” – Laura Nader, “Controlling Processes- Tracing the Dynamic Components of Power,” Minz Lecture, Current Anthropology. (1997) http://www.jstor.org/stable/2744461
ReplyDeleteAnalysis: Has science always been positive? An exhibit at the Smithsonian in 1994 attempted to show the real effects of science, not simply that it has all been in the sake of the beneficial progress of mankind. It didn’t do the typical “celebration” of science, but rather showed its “social, political and economic consequences.” Of course this resulted in a lot of controversy among the scientific community. Many were so outraged that they even threatened those responsible for the exhibit and allowing it to run. It is understandable that people who have developed these very revolutionary scientific technologies would want to be regarded very highly and not potentially be criticized due to an exhibition at the Smithsonian, but there also need to be an unbiased perspective, which those who created this exhibit were willing to explore. While, we have come to except anything that sciences says as an undeniable truth because our society has been controlled to think that way, it necessary to consider that alternate way of thinking. Laura Nader’s article explores the controlling processes of different aspects of society, and her analysis of the Smithsonian controversy, and the whole lecture in general is a very interesting read.
"Quell your prayers for love and peace, you'll wake the though police/we can hide the truth inside" - Muse, "Resistance"
ReplyDeleteGeorge Orwell's novel, 1984 illustrates what can come of society depending how it progresses. I was listening to a song by a well-known band called Muse one day and a few of words caught my attention, "you'll wake the thought police" because it automatically connected me to Orwell's novel. This is something that we constantly may be encountering, a person biting their tongue in fear or an entire country being unable to stand up against their government. In the novel, millions of people are suppressed by an extremely rash government. The higher officials of this world started to brainwash people to eliminate the use of thoughts or emotions that are unnecessary. They've also introduced a new type of language, it eradicates the use of words that encourage political rebellion; any thought that defies the government is considered crimethink. Although in this heinous world exists a group called Thought Police, they use very omnipresent methods of watching almost every single person.The twitch of an eyebrow or darkening of expression can give you away immediately. Luckily, none of that exists in our world or else not many people would be left living. We thrive off of political rebellion, without questioning authority or asking why, would we even have Democracy? It fuels the fire that burns in political protests and international arguments. People have attempted silencing some of us, but sometimes it can even be better to stay quiet because in our world imperfections exist. One of them being the fact that we have gotten physically or psychologically hurt because of our opinions. Governments have gone to great lengths to ensure that the truth doesn't come out. This quote suggests that we keep quiet about our thoughts and prayers of love and peace because someone may hears it who disagrees.
On the other hand, this is also progress because it shows that there is hope. Someone is noticing the situation at hand. The moments where you realize that you aren't the only one thinking something or doing something are so relieving. This quote is an epitome of one of those moments, someone is reaching out and speaking out against silence.
“Let Pakistan Make Its Own Progress” Nadia Navidwala, New York Times, March 16, 2010. "...progress in Pakistan — strengthening economic growth, governance and liberal values — takes years to realize but only a few American airstrikes or Taliban bombings to destroy." http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/17/opinion/17iht-ednaviwala.html?scp=1&sq=progress&st=cse
ReplyDeleteThis article outlines some of the changes that occurred in Pakistan, and Karachi, its largest city. Nadidwala visited Karachi this past summer after bring gone for 14 years. The country that she had described as "boring" and "closed" in addition to violent, suddenly became a very cosmopolitan city. While things have changed, and Karachi became "more open and progressive" there are still the problems that plague the country, largely as a result of its location next to Afganastan. Navidwala's article shows that there is a strong desire among Pakistanis for a more " open and liberal society" but there are no US aid programs that seem to attempt to understand that or focus on that. This is the type of progress the country wants and needs, and there are those political leaders that are trying to implement that, but it is a slow, incremental process that is very fickle and can easily be shattered by "a few American airstrikes or Taliban bombings." While many people across the world see the United States as the land of opportunity and progress, it is easy to see how various policies are quick to ruin those prospects of other countries which are eagerly trying to create societies that their people will be proud to live in.
“You call this progress?” – Resident of inner city Detroit neighborhood whose home was been demolished due to a General Motors construction of Cadillac plant. Film: “Poletown Lives.”
ReplyDeleteArticle on the film: http://www.cinemapolitica.org/films/182
Poletown was a tight knit community that has been around for decades. Many generations of families had lived in the same homes and raised their families there. They had no dream of leaving or having their lives uprooted until GM came into the town and decided to create a new car plant which would result in the destruction of the Poletown community. I watched this movie in one of my classes two weeks ago, and found this line coming from a woman who was watching her home being demolished to be very powerful. It emphasized that contradiction of what many believe is the positive progress of industrialization and corporatization. These people who were happy and content with the community and their lives within that community, were up against this idea that quick, efficient production was going to be a good and innovative transition for this community that was stuck in the past, but it wasn't their idea of progress. Instead, it was a symbol of destruction.
“Even Now, We Have a Long Way to Go”, Stefan Montouth, Daily Cal, Feb 26, 2010. “Yes, we have made great progress since slavery.” http://www.dailycal.org/article/108430/even_now_we_have_a_long_way_to_go
ReplyDeleteIn this article Stefan Montouth is speaking about the “Compton Cookout” incident when a fraternity decided to have a party to celebrate Black History month. However, this party had an offensive theme where the guests were told to dress “ghetto” and they even gave a stereotypical description. Stefan wrote this article because he is tired that the African American community is seen with negative stereotypes and even though there is has been progress there is still a long way to go. To gain more progress, there needs to be more education and awareness about the oppression that this group face. Moreover a critical project can be a campaign against the “Compton Cookout” because this is one of the many incidents that continue to remind us that racism is still our communities and that there needs to be more progress. Having a colored president is not enough.
Entry 1:
ReplyDeleteChandan Reddy’s keyword entry to “Modern” in Burgett and Hendler, eds., Keywords for American Cultural Studies (KACS) (2007): “As 85 percent of the globe's land mass was forcibly submitted to colonial rule, Western intellectuals and their publics, enthralled by the birth of "modernity," promoted "progress" by fixating on these features as the endpoint of colonial development (160).
Analysis: In this quote, Reddy illustrates how the relationship between modernity and progress was first formed during the colonial era. The usage of “progress” in this quote demonstrates how progress was defined in certain point in time, in this case, during the period of colonization. Progress was linked to modernity and modernity was connected to capitalism, where “advancement” and “moving onward” (which is mentioned in the Oxford’s English dictionary definition of progress) was seen by specific countries (i.e. Britain) as mainly being carried out through economics; “free labor, universalist notions of culture, and abstract notions of equality” (160). These colonist countries saw modernity and progress as expansionism and utilized this kind of thinking to conquer various parts of the word and make them similar to their own “world”; their own culture and what they see as equality.
Entry 2:
ReplyDeleteMiranda Joseph’s keyword entry to “Community” in KACS (2007): “At the same time, community is often understood to be a problematic remnant of the past, standing in the way of modernization and progress” (58).
Analysis: Joseph writes about the relationship between modernization and progress and how “community” is seen as an obstruction to the attainment of it. In Joseph’s keyword entry, she also talks about how modernization and progress is associated with the modern capitalist society and that “community” impedes the accomplishment of this type of society because it is often caught up in the past and is not up to date, “modern”, “advanced”, and “progressive” as a capitalist society. Joseph also states how “community” is often seen as mainly social values while a capitalist society is only linked to economic value. She then speaks about how they have actually been interrelated for years and thus, must be recognized.
Entry 3:
ReplyDeleteLauren Berlant’s keyword entry to “Citizenship” in KACS (2007): “Many of the progressive developments in U.S. citizenship would not have been achieved without the internationally based struggles of socialism, feminism, and the labor movement” (41).
Analysis: Berlant emphasizes how U.S. citizenship would not have been as progressive as it has been thus far, without the “internationally based struggles of socialism, feminism, and the labor movement”. Berlant insists that “progress” means the inclusion of all, not just certain groups of individuals. The social movements made by the “struggles of socialism, feminism, and the labor movement” have fought for this inclusion; for instance, the inclusion of females in the definition of who is a U.S. citizen.
Entry 4:
ReplyDeleteMignolo, “Citizenship, Knowledge, and the Limits of Humanity,” American Literary History 18.2 (2006): “In other words, global citizenship is part of the rhetoric of modernity (salvation, development, progress, well-being for all, and democracy), whereas the imperial and colonial differences are the invisible divides that maintain the logic of coloniality (oppression, domination, exploitation, and marginalization)” (323).
Analysis: Mignolo highlights the importance of rhetoric in the development of the global citizen. He calls this rhetoric the rhetoric of modernity because this kind of language is used to describe the characteristics of a global citizen as someone who is “modern” and follows the society and what they perceive as being “modern”. Examples of the rhetoric of modernity during the colonial time were “salvation, development, progress, well-being for all, and democracy”. During the period of colonization, salvation (the relationship a person has with God) is seen as part of the development of a citizen. They said that they want the well-being for all, but the way they defined citizenship excluded women and many more non-white groups, and democracy was portrayed as how they wanted to depict democracy. Mignolo’s article shows how progress is also related to time and how people use rhetoric to describe progress.
Entry 5:
ReplyDeleteSanchez, “Crossing Figueroa: The Tangled Web of Diversity and Democracy,” Foreseeable Futures #4: “Not too surprisingly, William Rainey Harper, the first president of the university and the person who had recruited Dewey to Chicago, would eventually lock horns with him over questions of academic centralization that conflicted with Dewey’s notion of democratic social engagement through progressive education” (20).
Analysis: Sanchez suggests that a “progressive education” requires “democratic social engagement”; thus, displaying that democracy is a component to progress. In the article, Sanchez further explains how “democratic social engagement” is the involvement of university students in service learning projects around the community near their school and how this contribution allows them to receive a “progressive education”. Sanchez shows how “progress” is associated with democracy and this then is connected to student involvement, where the students assist communities and learn and are educated about specific skills and particular community issues while doing so.
“Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is”, Feb 19th LUJIA LIN and AMY GU, Daily Cal, http://www.dailycal.org/article/108311/put_your_money_where_your_mouth_is. “Unfortunately, with the drastic cuts that have been proposed over the years to the department, the campus has chosen to respond to the region's progress with regress.”
ReplyDeleteLin and Gu share that the University needs to be invest more into language programs because UC Berkeley prides itself for being open to the public and for the public. Essential East Asian languages such as Korean and Chinese are being cut and this is hurting the students who want to seek opportunities abroad. Moreover, learning the language is a way of preserving one’s culture in this melting pot society. Progress is used in this article to show how regions such as Asia are growing economically and that UC Berkeley is not growing with the region but regressing. Thus, UC Berkeley is not progressing in this situation but rather cutting language that can be beneficial to students. Progress is seen to be something positive in this article, because mentioned earlier from Kristina , progress can be a symbol of destruction.
“Low Hispanic Population Remains at UC Berkeley”. Feb 11, 2010, MOLLIE BLOUDOFF-INDELICATO. “., “the UC has made progress in terms of underrepresented student enrollment”. http://www.dailycal.org/article/108199/low_hispanic_population_remains_at_uc_berkeley
ReplyDeleteUC Berkeley compared to campuses such as UC Merced, and UC Riverside lack Latin@ students in their undergraduate population. Due to proposition 209, students of color in college have decreased, especially the Latin@ population. A UC Berkeley spoke person claim that “the UC has made progress in terms of underrepresented student enrollment”. However, this is not true because according to the article the population has been steady for the last five years and compared to last year there was only a 0.6 percent increase. Moreover, if one were to walk around campus there is no “progress” in underrepresented students. I feel this was published to show that UC Berkeley made “progress” where they actually implemented better admission policies to increase the chances of Latin@s at UC Berkeley. Notice how “progress” is used often to sway people such as in political campaigns; this keyword is used to get people to vote for them because they seem to be able to make “progress” for the community. However, by claiming that UC Berkeley has made a progress is compelling, because due to proposition 13 and the increase of tuition fees the Latin@ population will digress. To have progress at UC Berkeley, there needs to be a change in admission policies and state policies.
“Shower of Aid Brings Flood of Progress”. March 8, 2010. JEFFREY GETTLEMAN. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/09/world/africa/09kenya.html?scp=1&sq=progress&st=cse
ReplyDelete“Is this progress, in development-speak, scalable? In other words, is there a way to take a place like this one and magnify the results by 1,000 times or 10,000 times and wipe out poverty across the developing world?”
In Sauri Kenya, Jeffrey D. Sachs, Bono, both Bills (Clinton and Gates), George Soros, Kofi Annan, Ban Ki-moon and others launched the Millennium Villages project which helps villages implement health care, education, job training, all of which could rapidly lift people out of poverty. There has been many miracles in Sauri, however people question if “Is this progress, in development-speak, scalable?” to wipe out poverty in the world. Mr Sach and his team is getting criticized for not paying enough attention to governance and corruption; however he agrees that poverty cannot be whipped out nationwide due to leaders needing to improve infrastructure and urban industries substantially. In this situation “progress” is made because Mr Sach and his crew was able to get villages in Sauir to rise above poverty, however this “progress” cannot help the whole country decrease poverty. More needs to be done such as improved infrastructure and urban industries. Moreover, to have progress there needs to be less corrupted leadership.
"Work in Progress". Mary J Blige.
ReplyDelete"Just understand we're all just a work in progress. Life can be difficult. No one promised that it would be.”
In this song, Mary J Blige talks about behind her fame, materials and fans she also is a work in "progress" which illustrates that she herself goes through many issues. Because behind her fame she is also a person of color and she has faced injustices. Even if they are not directed to her but just like how in UCSD the Compton Cookout was not directed towards one person but it affected the whole African American community at UCSD and elsewhere. Though this song does not go into detail of what she faces, when she states "Anybody knowing what it is to struggle. " depicts that she has been through struggles just like many other people and that she is still a work in "progress" because she also has to rise above these struggles."Progress" in the song is illustrated as growth in the person to be able to not be oppressed by the struggle but to work towards “progress” where one can embrace the struggle and grow and be empowered from it.
Image: “Pathway to Progress,” Glenn Wesley A. Dulay. 2009. http://www.flickr.com/photos/glennwesley/3957693209/
ReplyDeletePhotograph of Muharraq Corniche in Bahrain
Analysis: This image is shows the city scape of Manama, Bahrain's capital in the background. Largely due to an oil boom, Bahrain is the fastest growing economy in the Middle East. Manama is a modern city on the coast, is a financial center, with vast skyscrapers attracting multinationals, foreigners and foreign interests. In the foreground of the picture is a wooden shack. It is indeterminable if this is a home, or not, but it illustrates the contrast that is present all over the world, between the successful booming cities and the areas and people on the sidelines struggling. While, yes, Bahrain may be progressing since its Independence in the 70s and establishing itself as an international center however, delving beyond the skyscrapers and expensive cars and looks at the rest of the country it has been reported that over half of Bahraini Citizens are struggling from poverty and poor living conditions.
"What is progress?" Clip/ Commercial for IBM: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IRzfLDmnsA. People talking about their families and what progress means to them. "Work for the answers, work for progress, work for the world"
ReplyDeleteAnalysis: This video is hopeful. It attempts to capture different people from different backgrounds and what progress means to their families. In the broader context it does show that information sharing and technology have brought us a long way. It puts emphasis on computers because its a commercial for IBM, and was made to be a marketing tool which in itself shows progress in the way that products are advertised. This both bad and good connotations. This commercial was also made explicitly to explain progress and though a lot of what these actors (?) say is very true accurate, its important to consider the purpose.. is it to promote consumerism or to promote the progress of technology? Stepping away from this commercial and thinking about technology itself, it is true that our strong belief in technology and development of the internet, better communication, etc. have created tools that have resulted in the quicker access to information, and the interconnectedness of societies across the world.
"A revolutionary idea is stirring among the peaceful islands off the west coast of Scotland. It is a plan to produce green, renewable energy by harnessing the power at the bottom of the sea." Engineers in Scotland are planning on setting up underwater turbines that will be driven by the tide proposed to produce electricity for Islay's 3,500 people. -Tim Friend, Al Jazeera. http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/climatesos/2009/11/2009111612376969408.html
ReplyDeleteAnalysis: It is widely known today that we are quickly depleting the earth's resources. Most forms of energy production used across the world unsustainable. While it seems that nuclear energy is the answer to our problems, it is important to consider the past and the devastation that nuclear plans have caused across the world. While technology has progressed and there is a smaller chance types of destruction like this happening again, alternate forms of energy should be the focus today. Renewable energy sources are the the best answer, and slowly but surely they are popping up across the world, like in Ireland. The engineers of the underwater turbines believe that if this revolutionary project is successful, large scale versions can be used across the world to produce energy.
9. Image: "The March of Progress." Designer's Statement: "This is inspired by the famous march of progress illustration. The idea is that if evolution might have taken mankind away from nature, it has also brought awareness to the men. Thus there is hope that this awareness may bring back mankind to nature.." http://www.designboom.com/contest/files/1._march_of_progress.jpg
ReplyDeleteAnalysis: This is a great take on The March of Progress. It emphasizes the movement for environmental sustainability and the push to "go green." Constantly in the media, virtually every week you hear about new books, documentaries, etc. coming out about becoming green and living sustainably, trying to make less of an imprint on our environment. The image symbolizes the humans decent back to the earth and attempt reconnect after years of industrialization and urbanization that have ravaged our planet. It also shows that while civilizations can progress in a way that may create problems for itself and its environment, it has also figure out moves that can be made to attempt to reverse those problems.
10. "Compared with what we had before 2004, there is a progress an evident achievement of civil society. However, it is in my opinion, it is not enough. We have this old governance culture. It is inefficient and it is corrupt." -Oleksandr Sushko, Institute for Euro-Atlantic Cooperation.
ReplyDeleteWorld Focus Feature: "Soviet style hampers a democratic Ukraine." The video outlines some of Ukraine's problems that are remnents of Soviet policies, and Russia's continued influence on the county. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUMMFv0WRPQ
Analysis: This paints a clear picture of the Soviet style governance, corruption, and inefficiency that is thwarting the progress of a country that is struggling to become free and democratic since the break of of the Soviet Union. As Oleksandr Sushko put it, improvements have been made, especially in the last few years, but there is the constant struggle that prevents Ukraine from becoming a more Westernized country, joining the European Union, and having a truly democratic society and reliable government. There is hope, and these changes are indeed gradual, Ukrainians can do what they can to get their country to progress in the way that they want it to.
6. “In it’s place stood Progress; and Progress, I understand is necessarily ugly. “ (52). The Souls of Black Folks.
ReplyDeleteW.E. B. Du Bois went to visit his school and found that there are still changes that needs to be done. “In [log schoolhouse] stood Progress; and Progress, I under is necessarily ugly. The crazy foundation stones still marked the former site of my poor little cabin, and not far away, on six weary boulders, perched a jaunty board house, perhaps twenty by thirty feet, with three windows and a door that locked.” This illustrates that “progress” does not necessarily mean a positive change. He visited his school and found that the foundation is different however the school is still in bad shape. The conditions are still bad, with the broken windows, and seats without backs. He expresses the county owns the lot now, however they are not changing the conditions of the school. Though they changed a little from when he was in school where his desk was made of three more and have real progress where students will get an adequate education.
7. “The question then comes: Is it possible, and probable, that nine million of men can make effective and can make effective progress in economic lines if they are deprived of political rights, made a servile caste, and allowed only the most meager chance for developing their exceptional men?” (41). The Souls of Black Folks.
ReplyDeleteBooker T Washington suggested to the African American community that they should be peaceful and “give up”. That they should not fight for their civil rights, political power, or go to an institution for higher education. However, W.E. B. Du Bois argued that in order to have “effective progress in economic lines”, the African American community needs fight for their civil rights, political power and have folks go to institutions for higher education. He believes that by not fighting, the community is allowing themselves to be inferior and will have no progress because no one is fighting for them. Or the community is not going to institutions to gain skills to help the community. Thus, to have progress the community needs to organize and fight for their rights and must get others to advocate for them as well. Because if the community does not, they will have a high chance of not having any progress in their community and they will have to live with the conditions they are given.
8. “The only reason Chancellor Birgeneau is not putting forward this obvious and popular solution is that he is more afraid of our movement winning this fight and feeling emboldened to advance a full program of demands for equality, dignity, and for improving our day-to-day lives than he is of losing public higher education and all the prosperity, peace and progress it has brought to this state”. By Talya Hezi and Maria Belman. “Drop Charges Against Student Protesters”. Daily Cal. April 9, 2010.
ReplyDeleteBy Any Means Necessary (BAMN) and the Defend Affirmative Action Party (DAAP) are calling on the University to drop charges against the Wheeler Hall protesters. Though the administration are portraying them as criminals, BAMN and DAAP, call those people heroes for their act. However, the administration wants to punish them with a suspension and to write an essay denouncing their own politics. By Any Means Necessary (BAMN) and the Defend Affirmative Action Party (DAAP) are claiming that the Chancellor is not pushing for concrete solutions to save public education such as taxing banks but is afraid of the student movement and would instead let “public education and all the prosperity, peace, and progress it has brought to this state” be lost. This illustrates that the because of the public educational system, it was able to bring progress to the state due to folks receiving an education and using their skills to bring change. In this context, “progress” is portrayed as positive and that public education needs to be sustained to bring more progress to the state.
Obama's infamous progress photo.
ReplyDeletehttp://obeygiant.com/headlines/obama.
I’m sure everyone has seen Obama’s picture where he is in blue and red and it says Progress on the bottom of the picture. Obama’s campaign was definitely a success with the help of the materials showcasing the words “hope” or “progess”. His clothing became a fashion icon when stores such as Obey and Urban Outfitters were selling his shirt. I really do think people became more and more confident in him when they were constantly exposed to the words “hope” and “progress”. I believe people saw that he will bring progress because he will be the first colored president. This is a big deal because after so many centuries there is finally a person of color, it portrays the oppression of people of color and the progress the community has made thus far. Moreover, it illustrates how white privilege and white power have been prevalent. Thus progress in this situation showcases a needed change to bring in progress and representation in the political arena.
Blue Scholars - Back Home
ReplyDeleteAnd they say progress but the fact is
Dr. Martin Luther King's legacy is lookin' like the street we named after him
Permanently under construction, the people hustlin'
Despite the pain and sufferin' the energy we've mustered in
South side Seattle there's a whole lot happenin'
Where so called soul mates are stabbin' each other's scapulas
The song talks about the conditions in Seattle and that there has been no progress. Blue Scholars is stating "Dr. Martin Luther King's legacy is lookin' like the street we named after him" illustrating that progress has not been happening because there are still a lot of inequalities. Such as "soul mates are stabbin' each other's scapulas " depicting that community members are killing each other instead of coming together to fight against the conditions in the community. This song also sheds light on how though there was a civil rights movement, conditions and inequalities that the movement was fighting against is still happening. Thus, there needs to be some progress for the community because conditions are not helping the community progress.
Entry 6:
ReplyDeleteHu, Winnie. "Seeing No Progress, Some Schools Drop Laptops." The New York Times. The New York Times Company, 4 May 2007. Web. 11 Apr. 2010. (1).
In Liverpool, New York, high school teachers feel that laptops aren’t contributing to the academic success of their students: “The teachers were telling us when there’s a one-to-one relationship between the student and the laptop, the box gets in the way. It’s a distraction to the educational process” (1). To teachers, they feel that students are using computers to cheat on tests or for amusement purpose, versus educational purposes; meaning that laptops (technology) doesn’t correlate with the students doing well academically. From the quote: “But it is less clear whether one-to-one computing has improved academic performance — as measured through standardized test scores and grades — because the programs are still new, and most schools have lacked the money and resources to evaluate them rigorously,” it shows that school is hugely about the competitiveness and the acquirement of high test scores versus knowledge production (3). Furthermore, the article also mentioned how teachers are not up to date to new forms of technology and that the dropping of laptops is “cost effective”. Thus, more cuts are going towards education and if teachers, staff, and school boards keep having this “cost effective” mentally, who knows how much more money is being taken from education? Maybe the problem lies on the manner in which teachers teach, versus blaming technology as the problem and what is very contradicting is that historically, technology is often linked to progress.
Entry 7:
ReplyDeleteAl-Shalchi, Hadeel. "A Victory for Women after a Long Battle." San Francisco Chronicle [Cairo] 11 Apr. 2010: A-2. San Francisco Chronicle. Hearst Communications Inc., 11 Apr. 2010. Web. 11 Apr. 2010. : “But the dispute illustrated how so far, progress for women in the workplace has not soaked down in the public consciousness to create a widespread change in attitudes - particularly at a time when many popular Islamic clerics on television and other media promote a message that women's roles are inherently different from men's, and more centered around family and the home”.
The definition of progress in this article relates strictly to women. The articles writes about how government intervention and a Constitutional Court ruling was used to get women appointed to Egypt's State Council court for the first time. This action is seen as progress for women because women have never been appointed to Egypt’s State Council. The reasons that the article gave, was that women were too emotional to be in the council, they should do women’s work at home, and one of the columnists wrote in the newspaper about the idea that this political inequality toward women is suppose to show compassion for the women, where women are spared from “tiring, difficult work”. From this article, progress relates to inclusiveness, where women are starting to be included in politics in Egypt.
Entry 8:
ReplyDeleteUm, Khatharya. "A Dream Denied: Educational Experiences of Southeast Asian American
Youth Issues and Recommendations." (2003): I-24. Print: “While youth and educational advocates point to the active involvement, expressed interest, and moral support of family members as being essential to the educational progress, many Southeast Asian students come from families and households with severe constraints (2).
In Um’s article, she focuses on the items that contribute to the cultivation of the educational progress of Southeast Asian American youth. To her, “active involvement, expressed interest, and moral support of family members as being essential to the educational progress”, however Southeast Asian youth have restraints on the attainment of this “educational progress” and one of the reasons she mentioned was that the parents of these youth received little or no formal education in their only native country (2). From Um’s statements on progress, it seems that it relates to who has more resources than others and how this puts someone “above” or “below” certain individuals academically.
Entry 9:
ReplyDeleteLandsberg, Mitchell. "UC Irvine's Francisco Ayala Wins Templeton Prize." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2010. Web. 11 Apr. 2010. : "Ayala's clear voice in matters of science and faith echoes the foundation's belief that evolution of the mind and truly open-minded inquiry can lead to real spiritual progress in the world," Templeton said”.
Landsbery is focusing solely on the advancement (progress) of spiritually. In the past, spiritually mainly focused on Christianity and with time, as well as the constitution of the American ten amendments, spiritually is looked at less in a narrow approach, and more in an inclusive manner. Ayala, who won the Templeton Prize, portrayed how open-mindedness, as well as the evolution of the mind, is connected to spiritual progress. Therefore, the connection of open-mindedness and inclusivity that allows a person to mentally cultivate or “grow” understanding is connected to progress (spiritual progress).
Entry 10:
ReplyDelete"YouTube - What Is Progress?" YouTube. IBMSocialMedia, 6 Nov. 2008. Web. 11 Apr. 2010. : here is the dialogue from the youtube video:
“What does progress mean for someone you love? (written on the screen)
(Various people carrying pictures of their loved ones, while each individual says: )
Progress for my mother is a cure for glaucoma.
For them, progress means, overcoming obstacles
Ability to keep sharing the gift of knowledge
A world without racial and religious intolerance
The thought that their standard of living, that their future will be better than mine.
My grandfather is using technology to learn how to speak without his vocal cords
Progress for my family means knowing your genetic destiny and guide to modify your lifestyles
What is important to you is important to the world (written on the screen).
I am an IBMer (everyone in the video says this), (random people who already spoke in the commercial) work for the answers, work for progress, work for the world.
Join us, IBM (written on the screen).
In this commercial for IBM, IBM is linking technology to the achievement of progress. They used an emotional appeal to attract their customers to their idea of “progress”: “What does progress mean for someone you love?” and the responses that the individuals gave in the commercial, were very insightful and can cause a viewer to evoke certain kinds of emotions. An example of one of these responses is, “My grandfather is using technology to learn how to speak without his vocal cords”. Furthermore, the invention of the camera is a form of technology where people take pictures of their loved ones and the advancement of the camera, allows people to take even better pictures of their loved ones. IBM is indicating that technology is progress and that progress helps a person’s loved ones and that loved ones of that person deserves this “progress”.